stevechumo
Active Member
I have an update. The new engine is in. It has a super low mileage block with the new rebuilt heads. I replaced the shims to make sure the clearance between them and the cams are near to new factory specs. All gaskets and seals are new.
I only had a little trouble with the starter. So to alert anyone who reads this thread. Don't wash or touch the starter teeth. What happened is I washed the good working starter (I had it tested before) and pulled its gearing teeth out just for cleaning. I didn't test it again. Well, after that I put everything back, including the complete engine. The starter didn't even turn. "Bump".
You know how hard it is to replace the starter once it's in the engine bay? :Eyecrazy: I had help from David to diagnose why the car didn't start. Then after determining the starter could be bad, it took me 5 hours to replace it. It's a real bad starter that has a sticky gearing teeth and isn't turning at all. I think the water got inside the starter and I mislocated the gear when I tried to pull its teeth by hands. Live and learn..hah!
Just a note for anyone who is putting the engine in the SC400 or replacing the starter: To save the future hours if you have to replace the starter next time, it's now to replace the 2 OEM starter bolts with the longer bolts and nuts. You screw the new bolts from the starter inside out toward the tranny, and have the nuts tightened from the outside. The OEM way is to screw the bolts from the outside in and toward the engine. This is David's idea. I was prepared with this method so it only took 5 hours. If not, I believe it'll be a lot longer and a PITA.
After replacing the starter, the car started at the 1st crank. :biggrin: I drove the car around a couple of blocks and it drives so smooth like new. I'll need to take it to smog station (The state requires most old cars with every 2 years for smog inspection). After the smog inspection, I'll put in bigger injectors and ECU, have it tuned, then boost it. If I put in the big injectors now, my car will fail the inspection for sure.
Bigger turbo..It's a T60-1 built by Turbonetics.
I only had a little trouble with the starter. So to alert anyone who reads this thread. Don't wash or touch the starter teeth. What happened is I washed the good working starter (I had it tested before) and pulled its gearing teeth out just for cleaning. I didn't test it again. Well, after that I put everything back, including the complete engine. The starter didn't even turn. "Bump".
You know how hard it is to replace the starter once it's in the engine bay? :Eyecrazy: I had help from David to diagnose why the car didn't start. Then after determining the starter could be bad, it took me 5 hours to replace it. It's a real bad starter that has a sticky gearing teeth and isn't turning at all. I think the water got inside the starter and I mislocated the gear when I tried to pull its teeth by hands. Live and learn..hah!
Just a note for anyone who is putting the engine in the SC400 or replacing the starter: To save the future hours if you have to replace the starter next time, it's now to replace the 2 OEM starter bolts with the longer bolts and nuts. You screw the new bolts from the starter inside out toward the tranny, and have the nuts tightened from the outside. The OEM way is to screw the bolts from the outside in and toward the engine. This is David's idea. I was prepared with this method so it only took 5 hours. If not, I believe it'll be a lot longer and a PITA.
After replacing the starter, the car started at the 1st crank. :biggrin: I drove the car around a couple of blocks and it drives so smooth like new. I'll need to take it to smog station (The state requires most old cars with every 2 years for smog inspection). After the smog inspection, I'll put in bigger injectors and ECU, have it tuned, then boost it. If I put in the big injectors now, my car will fail the inspection for sure.
Bigger turbo..It's a T60-1 built by Turbonetics.
